Drag Jan Brewer Debate Train Wreck!

Sarah Palin: Lamestream Yellow Journalists Are Impotent, Limp, Gutless

That epic Vanity Fair slam piece really must have hit home with Mama Dizzily, judging by how hysterically shrill she's gotten about it. Enjoy beginning at 4:00.

Fire Island Ferries To Be Suspended

I'm being told that Fire Island's ferry service will be suspended at 3pm tomorrow and will resume sometime on Saturday. Tough break for those hoping to get out there after work tomorrow. But stay tuned, they may change their minds again.

UPDATE: You might still be able to get to the Pines and Cherry Grove if you get there quick enough after work. For now.

Fire Island Ferries will suspend service from Bay Shore at 3 p.m. tomorrow. It said ferries would resume early on Saturday, Sept. 4, once conditions improve. The Sayville Ferry Company told the News the 7 and 8 p.m. ferries to the Fire Island Pines tomorrow night are canceled. Ferries to Cherry Grove remain unaffected as of this posting. Ferries to Sailors Haven and Watch Hill have also been cancelled, and the campground in Watch Hill will remain closed tonight and tomorrow night. Davis Park-bound ferries will continue to run (at least for the time being). “We’re going to try and run as many ferries as we can,” said an operator at the Davis Park Ferry Company.

DENIED: Appeals Court Rejects Attempt To Force State Defense Of Prop 8

The California Court of Appeals has just denied the attempt to force Schwarzenegger and Brown to defend Proposition 8. "Petition summarily denied by order." The suit was brought by the anti-gay Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Pastor Joshua Beckley, with a supportive brief from former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese. The court's full ruling should be posted here by the end of the day.

The Luckiest Girl In The World

Walgreens, Second Avenue, 12:30pm

Chick 1: Flu shots, $25. I guess it's that time again.

Chick 2: Richard got me one for my birthday last year.

Chick 1: You're joking.

Chick 2: Plus dinner at Olive Garden.

Chick 1: You're joking.

Chick 2: I am the luckiest girl in the world.

GLAAD's Jarrett Barrios To Divorce

GLAAD executive director Jarrett Barrios, seen above with his sons, announced today that he is divorcing his husband. Together for sixteen years, the pair married in Massachusetts almost six years ago. Barrios made the revelation in a lengthy Boston Globe editorial today.

As our families continue the march towards equality, the gay and lesbian community often doesn’t talk about divorce, even though some of the most important protections associated with marriage are exercised at the end of a relationship — protections that help the more economically vulnerable partner, give a formula for sharing the care of the children, and establish how two people can disentangle a life’s worth of acquisitions, compromises, and dreams. Just as gay and lesbian couples share the joys of marriage, we will share the pain of divorce, something for which we have no template. Divorce plumbs impossible depths of sadness. It involves separating the dishes and the books and all the other things you acquired back when you both still felt the lightness of love, asserting to a judge at a public trial that, yes, your marriage has broken down irretrievably, and telling your parents whose marriage of 47 years hangs heavy over your anemic explanations to them.

Joe Solmonese Clarifies On Mehlman

After reading last night's JMG post about his Hardball appearance, HRC head Joe Solmonese sends us this clarification on his position on Ken Mehlman.

"As the community has digested the news of Ken Mehlman’s coming out, I believe it’s important for us to move forward and use this opportunity to expand the circle of Americans supporting marriage equality. Last night on Hardball with Chris Matthews I gave a short answer regarding Ken’s coming out saying, ‘the past is the past.’ While I do believe we have to turn the page at some point, I should have given a more thorough response saying that we cannot forget the past and while many are finding it hard to forgive, our future is far more important."

Jukebox The Ghost - Schizophrenic

Here's Jukebox The Ghost's Letterman performance from last night which I raved about in today's open thread. Watch this now, their label's Sales Prevention Team will probably get it pulled from YouTube. Song of the year for me, so far.

Inside The Gay Brain

Over at Box Turtle Bulletin Rob Tisinai tips us to this fascinating BBC clip in which openly gay actor John Barrowman undergoes a brain scan while looking at nude images of men and women. Researchers can conclude the primary sexual orientation of their subjects by measuring the brain's electrical responses as the images are viewed. We hereby issue an open challenge to Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber and Charlie Crist to undergo this test!

Jan Brewer Debate Train Wreck

Cornhole 4 The Cure

Perhaps unaware of its other meaning, perhaps not unaware, two men in Memphis are staging cancer fundraisers around the classic country fair game cornhole.

"We just started playing the game cornhole," Spurlin said. "It's just a bean bag toss game. Then, we decided why not make some cornhole boards? My mother-in-law makes the bags for us." That was the beginning of 'Cornhole 4 the Cure,' which in just six weeks has developed into a website and weekly tournament. Games are held every Wednesday night at the Boiling Point restaurant in Southaven. "The purpose is we're raising money for St. Jude," Spurlin said. "One hundred percent of our donations go to St, Jude and fifty percent of all proceeds go to St. Jude."

From a commenter on the linked news story: "I have told my wife for years that cornholing can help cure cancer but she didn't believe me, until I found this group. Now, everytime she objects to a cornholing session, I remind her of how many people might die as a result of her refusing to cornhole. So, whenever she tells me 'but I don't like it,' I have to remind her of what people with cancer are going through. Perspective, people. Perspective." You can watch people cornhole on the event's website.

Century 21 To Open In Lincoln Square

The Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side's Lincoln Square, longtime host to appearances by famous authors and classical music stars, will be replaced next fall by famed downtown discounter Century 21. The bookseller announced last week that it could no longer afford the area's sky-high rent and will close in January. So no more meet-n-greets with opera stars, but also no more schleps to Ground Zero for discount Dolce.

HomoQuotable - Sean Bugg

"We all bear responsibility for the choices we make, especially when one chooses to improve one's own life at the expense of others. Mehlman's plea for understanding that it was 'very hard, personally,' rings hollow when compared to the lives of those who chose to live their lives honestly, even when that choice ended careers or divided families.

"Choices have consequences. The consequences of Mehlman's choices are enshrined in the constitutions of multiple states -- including my own home state of Kentucky -- a web of treachery that will take decades to undo (absent a Supreme Court decision for marriage equality, which no one should hold their breath for).

"Where some may see in Mehlman a pragmatic tool for the hardball political arena, I see a political blood diamond, a commodity so tainted by its past that it's odious to employ in the present. The fight for LGBT equality has to be about more than political warfare, more than collecting checks from rich benefactors. Pragmatism has its place, yet so does principle. Mehlman may someday find redemption enough to cleanse the taint of his past, but that redemption should be earned, not bought." - Sean Bugg, writing for Metro Weekly.

Today In WTF

I guessing this is not real.

PhoboQuotable - Sally Kern

"Here in America we’ve had what maybe three known real big terrorist attacks on our nation. But every day our young people especially, all of us, but our young people especially are in a sense bombarded with the message that homosexuality is normal and natural." - Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern, repeating her 2009 claim that teh gay are worse than terrorism.

Kern's 2010 challenger is Brittany Novotny, whom you can support here.

El Diario Endorses Charlie Ramos

Amazing news: New York's largest Spanish-language newspaper has endorsed Charlie Ramos in his bid to unseat vile homophobe Sen. Ruben Diaz. From El Diario:

While the incumbent Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. has received attention for opposing marriage equality legislation, Ramos says that his votes against community interests and silence on notorious landlords are among the other issues that compelled him to run. Diaz’s narrow mindedness and grandstanding are inadequate for a district that deserves much more. The solid, consistent work of activists like Ramos would build up ample leaders and organizers poised to move a community forward. Vote for Ramos on September 14th.

Contribute to Charlie Ramos here.

Double Rainbow Guy For Windows Live

It's sort of amazing that they got him to do this.

Photo Of The Day - Chris Colfer

Glee's Chris Colfer made Rolling Stone's photo essay of this season's "best characters and most memorable scene-stealers." HELLO.

(Tipped by JMG reader Stacey)

New From Servicemembers United

Hurricane Earl Approaches

Hurricane Earl is moving slightly more to the northwest than had been predicted and evacuation orders have been expanded.

Changing Times On Marriage

New From AZ Gov. Jan Brewer

Points for working the Mexican flag in.

AUSTRALIA: Anti-Gay MP Fred Niles Caught In Pornography Scandal

Rev. Fred Niles, the longest-serving member of the New South Wales parliament and one of Australia's leading anti-gay activists, is front-page news in Sydney today after an audit revealed that he'd used his government computer to view pornography. A really LOT of pornography, it appears.

An audit of NSW parliamentary computers, which has already resulted in the resignation of a Labor minister, reportedly showed up to 200,000 suspect hits linked to Reverend Nile's parliamentary log-on. Today he admitted one of his staff members had viewed online porn "for just a few seconds" for research purposes. But he insisted neither he nor any member of his staff had been "sitting there perving". "My senior researcher has conducted a lot of research into the pornography industry at my request because we have bills dealing with increasing the ban on pornographic materials," he said. "I have not accessed or viewed any of those sites but my researcher has."

Niles claims that the porn hits came from links found on the site of the Australian Sex Party, a grassroots group formed to advocate for same-sex marriage. The Sex Party rejected Niles' claims as ridiculous and have called for his resignation. Niles has fought many LGBT rights laws in New South Wales and has called for abolishing the Sydney Mardi Gras as a "public parade of immorality and blasphemy."

(Tipped by JMG reader Dennis)

It's Come To This

Longtime Bay Area Reporter Columnist "Sweet Lips" Dies At Age 87

Bay Area Reporter columnist Richard Walters, who penned the paper's gossip and nightlife updates as "Sweet Lips" for the last 39 years, has died at the age of 87.

Sweet Lips and the late B.A.R. founding publisher Bob Ross were roommates when Sweet Lips started his self-described gossip column. Friends had helped with the column in recent years. Declining health led him to retire the column in June. Thomas E. Horn, the B.A.R.'s current publisher, called Sweet Lips "the Herb Caen of the LGBT community from the 1960s on," referring to the late, longtime San Francisco Chronicle columnist. For years, Sweet Lips wrote about people, bars, and events in San Francisco's Polk and Tenderloin areas. He worked in a few of the bars in the area. "When the Polkstrasse was the center of gay life in San Francisco, Lips knew every bartender, every club owner, most of the patrons, all of the cute boys, and, thus, most of the gossip of the community," said Horn in an e-mail. "He will always be a seminal part of gay history in San Francisco and will be particularly missed by his B.A.R. family," Horn added.

RELATED: The Bay Area Reporter lost another of its longtime writers last October when leather columnist Mister Marcus died at age 77 after penning his column for 38 years.

Taking Down NOM's Prop 8 Lies

AUSTRALIA: State Of New South Wales Approves Gay Adoption

Today the legislature of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, narrowly approved adoption rights for same-sex couples. Sydney is the state capital.

Members of the New South Wales state parliament voted 46-44 in favour of removing discriminatory clauses in the Adoption Act. In two other jurisdictions, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, gay adoption is already legal. The debate on the bill lasted four days and drew a crowd of 200 protestors to Sydney’s Parliament House. David Clarke, who led the protest, argued that his supporters were not motivated by their religious creed. “This has nothing to do with religion,” he said. “This is about morality and this is about the rights of children.” Devout Catholic Kristina Keneally, the premier of New South Wales, supported the bill. “In forming my position on this bill, I have considered my experiences as a mother, my responsibilities as a parliamentarian and my conscience as a Christian and member of the Catholic faith,” she said.

This is the second win for LGBT rights in Australia this week. On Monday the island state of Tasmania recognized same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.

Focus On The Family Defends Their Fight Against Anti-Bullying Programs

Happy 9-02-10 Day

Let the traditional celebrations commence.

California Senate Debate: Carly Fiorina Vs. Sen. Barbara Boxer On Gay Marriage

Fiorina recap: Marriage is between a man and a woman, blasts Judge Walker, supports civil unions, supports DOMA, supports repeal of DADT. "My position [on marriage] is consistent with that of the president."

Open Thread Thursday

We need some new tunes up in this here joint. What's blowing up your iPod right now?

UPDATE: OK, I just may have heard my favorite song of the YEAR tonight on Letterman. Below is Schizophrenic by the DC-based trio Jukebox The Ghost. Mika meets Scissor Sisters meets late 90's happy trance (sort of, in the piano runs, aging circuit boys will feel me.) Their new album comes out September 7th and you can stream the entire thing here. I totally want to gay-marry this record. And now I need to dance under the redwoods in Guerneville.

UPDATE II: I've removed the audio-only Jukebox The Ghost clip and posted the Letterman performance here.

HRC's Joe Solmonese And Some Log Cabin Guy On Ken Mehlman's Coming Out

Joe Solmonese: "The past is the past. We certainly don't have the luxury at this point in our movement to turn away any offer of help." No mention from either of them on the trail of hate crimes, homeless teens, suicides, and broken families left in the wake of vicious Mehlman-led anti-gay ballot measures in twenty-one states. The past is the past and Hitler liked dogs.

Click Away The GOP's Pennies

While I try to do something about these GOP and teabagger text-generated banner ads, feel free to go crazy clicking on them. I don't know what they have to pay-per-click, but maybe you'll feel better for having had to look at such garbage. (Clicks don't affect my end, btw.)

Shocking! Dumbassery At Whitestock!

(Via - Towleroad)

Homocon Tweet Of The Day - Gay Patriot

Meh, predictable. I wonder if GOProud would grant me press credentials for Homocon 2010? I want to photograph the Wealthy Gay White Right without their internet hoods.

UPDATE: We got our answer pretty quick! I asked for a single citation of the below ridiculous claim and got back empty sputtering. He's kind of having a fabulous meltdown if you enjoy watching such a trainwreck.

Earl Update: Fire Island May Be Evacuated

UPDATE: No evacuation is planned. Party on, gurls.Although forecasters are hoping for a mere sideswipe of the northeast, Suffolk County officials will announce later today whether they will call for a full evacuation of Fire Island, a process that authorities say takes eight to nine hours. I'll update this post when they make the call.

Anne Heche's Mom Publishes Anti-Gay Book With Levitical Call For Death To Gays

Ex-Gay Watch reports that Nancy Heche, mother of wacko actress Anne Heche, has co-authored an anti-gay compendium titled The Complete Christian Guide To Understanding Homosexuality.

Joe Dallas and Nancy Heche are listed as the general editors. Though most of the book is written by Joe Dallas and Nancy Heche, contributing authors are listed as: Alan Chambers, Paul Copan, Melisa Fryrear, Mike Haley, Bill Maier and Randy Thomas. All of whom, with the exception of Paul Copan (to my knowledge), are or were speakers at Love Won Out [Exodus International] conferences.

EGW notes that the book contains the usual Levitical call for homosexuals to be put to death. So why hasn't Nancy Heche murdered her daughter?

My interest in homosexuality can be traced to my 25-year marriage to a man who, unbeknownst to me, was living a secret second life as a homosexual. It was his AIDS diagnosis (and eventual death) that finally brought our the truth. Years later, I would be dealing with this issue again from a more public perspective as my daughter, actress Anne Heche, embarked on a well publicized lesbian affair [with Ellen Degeneres].

Remember, we know the Bible is true because it says so in the Bible.

BREAKING: Hostage Crisis At Discovery Channel Offices In DC

An armed man also thought to be carrying explosives is holding hostages at the Washington DC offices of the Discovery Channel. The man has apparently been previously arrested at the Discovery offices. His "manifesto" of demands has already been published online. An excerpt:

Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)

The manifesto also calls for shows about finding the solution to global warming, unemployment, and lots more crazy. All the major TV networks are live on the situation.

UPDATE: The moderators at Free Republic are going crazy deleting every other post. Wonder what's being said, eh?

UPDATE II: The gunman is reportedly dead and all hostages are safe.

Glenn Beck-Laden

SAS To Host In-Flight Gay Wedding

Scandinavian Airlines wants to be the first to host an in-flight gay wedding and has launched a contest to find that couple. One proviso - the nuptials must take place in Swedish airspace in order to be legal.

"It will be a very traditional wedding," SAS spokesman Anders Lindstroem told AFP. "There will be wedding cake and dancing in the aisles." SAS is accepting entries from gay couples who wanted to celebrate their nuptials mid-flight from Stockholm to New York on December 6, with the winning entry will be chosen by an online vote. The airline said it would pay for the winners' tickets, hotels and honeymoon in Los Angeles, and cater the on-board banquet, albeit with a special wedding menu instead of normal passenger fare. Linstroem said SAS was playing catch-up to US airlines, who have spent years courting gay, lesbian and bisexuals in the United States with targeted marketing and sponsorship campaigns.

The airline does note that the ceremony will be held in the closed-off business class section so as "not to offend any other customers who may not approve." Well, boo to THAT part. Will there at least be a mile-high consummation?

Downtown Fiction - Fuck You

Lots of Cee-Lo covers are already popping up on YouTube.

The Kings Of Parkour

Tweet Of The Day - Matt Barber

Arch homophobe, closet case, "shemalevideo" lover, kidnapping accomplice, and Liberty Counsel lawyer Matt Barber would like you to know that the precise date of the universe's creation was October 23rd, 4004 BC. From World Nut Daily (of course):

How old is the world? Most people would say: "Nobody knows." But the author of the book frequently described as the greatest history book ever written, said the world was created Oct. 23, 4004 B.C. – making it exactly 6,014 next month. In the 1650s, an Anglican bishop named James Ussher published his "Annals of the World," subtitled, "The Origin of Time, and Continued to the Beginning of the Emperor Vespasian's Reign and the Total Destruction and Abolition of the Temple and Commonwealth of the Jews." First published in Latin, it consisted of more than 1,600 pages. The book, now published in English for the first time, is a favorite of homeschoolers and those who take ancient history seriously.

How is this book "a favorite of homeschoolers" if it's never been published in English until now? Highly scientific minds can purchase said book from World Nut Daily (naturally) for a mere $69.99.

Quote Of The Day - Miss Universe

"Look, I believe that every person in this world has the right to profess the beliefs they have and I am in agreement. We have to respect what each human being decides to do with their lives, no? Clearly, there are limitations, of course, also, as there also are with heterosexual couples, no? Better said, there are limitations for any of the two - if they are heterosexual or homosexual - but I believe we have to learn to be respectful because they are people who are the same as us. There is no difference.

"And I don't believe it's just to discriminate somebody based on the gender they prefer, no? Based on the partner they choose to select, if it's a man or a woman. The truth is that I am absolutely against discrimination and, well, what can I say. I have many friends who are homosexual and I adore them. And they are equal folk: There is no reason we should want to set them aside, there is no reason why we shouldn't let them enjoy what they want to enjoy with their partner." - Mexico's Jimena Navarette, Miss Universe 2010, coming out for marriage equality in an interview translated by Andres Duque at Blabbeando.

A Sad And Moldering Strangeness

You've got to read Vanity Fair's just-published profile of Sarah Palin. An excerpt:

Palin has often stated that the strokes of luck propelling her political success were divinely ordained: “There are no coincidences” is a favorite maxim. In Going Rogue, Palin casts herself as a reluctant prophet, accepting providential election against her wishes. The reluctant prophet is a character trope found throughout Hebrew and Christian scripture. (Jesus prays, “Father, if it is Thy will, let this cup pass from me.”) The opening scene of Going Rogue, at the 2008 Alaska State Fair, ends with Palin’s BlackBerry ringing. As she reaches to answer, Palin prays, “Please, Lord, just for an hour, anything but politics,” only to find John McCain on the line, “asking if I wanted to help him change history.”

Whenever I heard Palin speak on the road, her remarks were scored with code phrases expressing solidarity with fundamentalist Christians. Her talk of leading with “a servant’s heart” is a dog whistle for the born-again. Her dig at health-care reform as an expression of Democratic ambitions to “build a Utopia” in the United States is practically a trumpet call (because the Kingdom of God is not of this earth, and perfection can be achieved only in the life to come). But it is Palin’s persistent encouragement of the prayer warriors that most clearly reveals her worldview: she is good, her opponents are evil, and the war is on.

Read the entire thing. It's epic.

Glenn Beck: I Wore A Bullet-Proof Vest To Whitestock 2010

REMIX: Brandon Flowers - Crossfire

Here's a great new remix of the debut solo single from Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. The full length, Flamingo, comes out September 14th.

The Iraq War May Be Over, But Don't Forget The Lies That Got Us There

Watch every minute of this.

Chase Whiteside Is One Of Us

Many of you have expressed admiration for NewLeftMedia interviewer Chase Whiteside, whose impassive apparent approval has allowed so many teabaggers to hang themselves in his videos. You knew somebody that smart had to be gay, right? Here's Whiteside's blog, where he's rather frank about his life. He's single, not looking, hates nipple play, is cut but considers circumcision to be a crime, and likes guys who start with S: "Smart, shy, short, swarthy, smiling, sincere, spry, sweet."

(Via Dominic Holden at Slog)

Like September In Tuscany

Maxi-pads can remind one of September in Tuscany, according to an amusing hottie-infused ad campaign out of Canada. There are more: A Date With Brad and A Date With Ryan.

(Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

Hurricane Earl Forecast Improves

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for the Outer Banks, but forecasters are now saying that a weakening Hurricane Earl may only sideswipe much of the east coast. You might get a holiday weekend yet. (But probably not you, P-Town.)

New From Sharron Angle

She's actually IN this one.

Cher & Xtina: The Movie

Morning View - Met Life Bridge

This elevated passageway connects the Metropolitan Life Tower and the Met Life Annex across the street.

MINNESOTA: Anti-Gay Group Fights Bullying Efforts After Teen Suicides

After the suicides of three gay teens in just one year, a Minnesota school district has rebuffed offers from LGBT groups to help with anti-bullying education, citing a 2009 edict that "sexual orientation is not to be taught in the district." This, despite charges that one of the teens killed himself last year after being harassed by two of his own teachers. As LGBT groups continue to push for anti-bullying programs, a group of Christian parents has naturally formed an opposition organization.

In July, a shadow group of parents formed in the district with the intention on staving off any advances for LGBT students. The Parents Action League launched its website in June along with a petition that reads, “Whereas homosexual behavior exposes participants to many life-threatening health risks; and whereas the classroom environment needs to be solely focused on academics; Therefore, we the undersigned citizens of Anoka-Hennepin School District No. 11 do whole heartedly support and desire that the School Board adhere to … the AH District 11 Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy.” When the Minnesota Independent asked who founded the group and if it had any connections to other “pro-family” groups in the state, an unsigned email came back: “We think our website explains very well what we’re about and who founded it – citizens in the Anoka Hennepin School District.” When questioned about ways to get more information about the group’s activities, the Independent was told via email, “We do not see your name on our on-line petition. Once you sign the petition, we may be contacting you” [emphasis theirs].

Currently the website for the Parents Action League bears only this message: "We have never been inundated with so much hate and disdain for a differing viewpoint than that of the pro-gay movement. Our group has NEVER written anything hateful on our site or to any member of the GET group with whom we strongly disagree. Apparently, tolerance, kindness and decency are only to be extended to the pro-gay viewpoint - talk about your bullying!"

Arizona GOP Accused Of Fielding Fake Green Party Candidates

Democratic Party officials in Arizona have accused the GOP of creating fake Green Party candidates in order to split the Democratic vote in November.

The complaint names Rep. Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix; Steve May, a Republican candidate for the Legislature; and a House Republican staffer as complicit in an effort to register at least a half-dozen people as Green Party members so they could run as write-in candidates in last week's primary election. Republicans accused of the ploy denied any wrongdoing. Under state election law, it only takes one write-in vote for a person to qualify as a Green candidate on the Nov. 2 general-election ballot. The newly minted Green candidates have been disavowed by the Arizona Green Party and are running in races in which Democrats are believed to be competitive. Those races include secretary of state, treasurer, Arizona Corporation Commission and several legislative contests in swing districts.

One of the suspicious Green Party candidates is the roommate of the daughter of an Arizona GOP official.

UPDATE: JMG reader Homer notes that one of the accused GOP scamsters, Steve May, is an out gay man.

(Tipped by JMG reader Band)

True Blood In Memoriam

HBO has posted this memorial to all the True Blood characters that have died in the first three seasons. This ran before last week's episode and you may not want to watch it if you don't watch the show. (Hello, gore!) This season's final episode airs September 12th.

Tweet Of The Day - Lizz Winstead

CBS News' paid crowd estimation service actually put the attendance at around 87,000.

Anti-Gay Group Sues To Force Brown & Schwarzenegger To Defend Prop 8

Equality California issued an alert this afternoon that the anti-gay Pacific Justice Institute has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to force Gov. Schwarzenegger and AG Jerry Brown to defend Prop 8. And of course, the lawsuit is being brought on behalf of a Christian pastor.

The institute is arguing that as the state's chief law enforcement officer, Brown does not have discretion to defend only laws with which he personally agrees. And because the California Constitution gives the governor final say when he and the attorney general disagree on legal matters, Schwarzenegger must be compelled to file an appeal to preserve Proposition 8 as well, the group's lawsuit states. "To allow an elected official to trump the will of the people by mere inaction and the lack of fulfillment of their duty to do their job would be an egregious violation of public trust," Pacific Legal Institute Brad Dacus said Tuesday. The institute brought its motion on behalf of Joshua Beckley, pastor of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship church in San Bernardino, and included with it a declaration of support from former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III.

Equality California's Geoff Kos: "This is an outrageous attempt to try and force elected officials who have sworn to uphold the United States Constitution to defend a law that the Federal Court has found to be unconstitutional. It demonstrates their acknowledgement that the proponents of Proposition 8 lack standing to appeal, that the case should be dismissed and loving same-sex couples should be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to marry."

Sydney Vogue Flash Mob

In Sydney's historic Queen Victoria Building with drag star Joyce Maynge.

NYC's Tap Water Isn't Kosher

Gizmodo reports that NYC's famously delicious tap water is full of jillions of microscopic shellfish called copepods, rather alarming news for city's Orthodox, especially as the High Holy Days approach. As NYC's water supply is of such high quality that the EPA does not require mechanical filtering, the nation's "leading kosher certification organization" has issued the following instructions:

• Tap water in New York City (i.e., the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island) should be filtered before drinking;
• Products already manufactured may be used, even if made with unfiltered water;
• The water supply of dishwashers does not require filtering. Similarly, dishes may be washed by hand in unfiltered water if the dishes are subsequently towel dried, or left to drip-dry without “puddles” of water in them;
• Water should not be filtered on Shabbat or Yom Tov because of the prohibition of borer (selection). Rather, filtering should be done before Shabbat and the water should be stored for Shabbat use. One may, however, filter water for non-food purposes on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
• Bottled water is permitted for use.

Maybe it's these tiny shrimp that give the water its unique taste?

Former McCain Campaign Manager Steve Schmidt Endorses Marriage Equality

The avalanche of prominent Republicans endorsing marriage equality continues today as former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt jumps on the bandwagon. Schmidt is now listed as a co-sponsor of Ken Mehlman's AFER fundraiser.

"There is a strong conservative case to be made in favor of gay marriage," former McCain campaign manager and fellow same-sex marriage fundraiser Steve Schmidt told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. "Marriage is an institution that strengthens and stabilizes society. It is an institution that has the capacity to bring profound joy and happiness to people and it is a matter of equality and keeping faith of one of the charters of the nation, the right to live your life. "More and more conservatives are saying that opposition to gay marriage would not be a litmus test for membership in the GOP," Schmidt added. "And more conservatives are making the case that no more do you want big government conservatives in the bedroom than big government liberals telling you how to live your life."

Towleroad notes that in 2005 Schmidt attacked Mike Rogers as a "bottom feeder" for claiming that Mehlman is gay.

VERY FUCKING RELATED: John McCain's current campaign manager, Mark Buse, is an openly gay man working to elect one of the most powerful enemies of his LGBT brothers and sisters. As reminder, McCain voted YES on DOMA, NO on hate crimes, NO on ENDA, supported Prop 8, and expressed opposition to gay adoption. And of course, war hero McCain opposes the DADT compromise repeal. When is Quisling Mark Buse going to join his predecessor Steve Schmidt and come out for LGBT rights?

Fidel Castro: I Take Responsibility For Cuba's Persecution Of Gays

Calling it a "great injustice," today Fidel Castro told a Mexican newspaper that he accepts responsibility for Cuba's persecution of its gay citizens, thousands of whom were rounded up and placed in internment camps during his regime.

Castro said that the revolutionary government's actions represented "a great injustice – a great injustice! – whoever committed it. If we committed it, we committed it. I am trying to limit my responsibility in all that because, of course, personally I don't have that type of prejudice." The interviewer paraphrases him as saying that "everything came about as a spontaneous reaction in the revolutionary ranks that came from the nation's traditions. In the old Cuba, blacks were not the only ones discriminated against; there was discrimination against women and, of course, homosexuals." Was the Communist Party to blame, the interviewer asks. "No," Castro responds. "If anyone is responsible, I am. True, at that time I couldn't concern myself with the subject. I was deeply and mainly involved in the October Crisis, the war, the political issues. But in the end, if responsibility must be assumed, I assume mine. I'm not going to blame others," Castro says.

Many will likely credit Castro's niece Mariela for today's statement as she has led Cuba's burgeoning LGBT rights movement in recent years. Havana has staged gay pride parades for the last two years.

Arcade Fire - We Used To Wait

An interesting gimmick.

Arcade Fire’s “We Used To Wait” video uses Google maps and satellite images to personalize the HTML5 video’s imagery, adding an extra tinge to the song’s bittersweet nostalgia. But there are plenty of other surprises (and other browser windows), that makes it less of a video and more of a interaction between you and your childhood. Grab your old childhood address and visit http://www.thewildernessdowntown.net/ to play it (and play with it). Google Chrome works best. The video was directed by Chris Milk.

Margaret Cho On Prop 8 & Religion

Dancing With The Stars contestant Margaret Cho sat down with P-Town dragster Sassy and Marriage Equality New York's Cathy Marino-Thomas to talk about the religious right and Proposition 8. Margaret: "I just want to kick them in the cunt."

Focus On The Family Cites George "Rentboy" Rekers In Anti-Bullying Attack

This morning I noted Focus On The Family's repulsive attempt to prevent schools from teaching that it's wrong to beat up gay kids. Over at Alternet blogger Alvin McEwen has discovered that Focus is actually citing Dr. George "Lift My Luggage" Rekers in their anti-gay materials.

You read that right. Our “beloved” solicitor of “luggage lifters,” George Rekers. Even after the scandal involving the rentboy and the knowledge that his very presence at anti-gay judicial cases almost ensures victories of the lgbt community (due to the fact that judges don’t find him credible), Cushman and Focus on the Family still think of him as a credible source when it comes to LGBT issues. The big irony is that Cushman contends that Focus on the Family wants to establish an anti-bullying program to help all students. I find that hard to believe on so many levels. The citation of Rekers as a reliable source is one reason. The entire campaign in general is another.

Shortly after the Rekers scandal broke, he resigned from the "ex-gay" group NARTH. And the Family Research Council tried to pretend they'd never heard of him, even though he was listed on their site's "about" page as one of FRC's co-founders.

DNC Warns About Teabaggers

The DNC warns us that unless the Democrats close ranks behind their candidates, many extreme teabaggers stand a good shot of election in November.

GEORGIA: No Hates Crime Charges For Marines That Beat Gay Man

In June two U.S. Marines were arrested in Savannah, Georgia after viciously beating a gay man they claimed had winked at them. The victim was hospitalized after suffering two seizures at the site of the attack. The case prompted national outrage and a local protest vigil after the men were only charged with misdemeanor assault. On Friday a joint investigation by the FBI and local police concluded that the case did not merit any hate crimes charges.

Johnson said after the FBI, the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department and the DA’s office reviewed Daly's medical records and conducted further investigation, they determined this case had “no merit” to be considered a hate crime. “I can’t speak on the specifics because this is pending litigation, but for a crime to be considered a felony [which a hate crime is considered to be] there has to be proof of a sustained injury,” Johnson said. “It’s my understanding Daly suffered only a punch. Based on his medical records we could not upgrade the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony.” If convicted of a misdemeanor, the Marines could face less than a year in jail and a fine of no more than $1,200, she added.

Unbelievable.

China Hears First HIV Discrimination Case

For the first time in the nation's history a Chinese court will hear the case of a man who says he was denied a job because of his HIV status.

The man said he had passed written tests and interviews for the teaching post in Anhui province. But he warned down after medical screening revealed his HIV status, China Daily said. The newspaper reported that the case will be heard by a court in Anqing city, in Anhui province. The plaintiff, a recent graduate, was not asking for compensation but wanted to be given the job, it said. A lawyer for the plaintiff told the BBC that he would defend his client under existing Chinese laws. "The state already has laws and regulations forbidding discrimination against HIV carriers when they apply for jobs," Zheng Jineng said. "But the actual practise by some government departments and employers are in direct conflict with the laws. "The fact that the People's Court has accepted the case indicates that the rule of law in China is progressing."

A Little Good News About Bedbugs

The New York Times reports that while the city remains at DefCon 1 over the bedbug panic, at least we can rest assured that the blood suckers don't carry any diseases.

Bats are sources of rabies, Ebola, SARS and Nipah virus. And other biting bugs are disease carriers — mosquitoes for malaria and West Nile, ticks for Lyme and babesiosis, lice for typhus, fleas for plague, tsetse flies for sleeping sickness, kissing bugs for Chagas. Even nonbiting bugs like houseflies and cockroaches transmit disease by carrying bacteria on their feet or in their feces or vomit. But bedbugs, despite the ick factor, are clean. Actually it is safer to say that no one has proved they aren’t, said Jerome Goddard, a Mississippi State entomologist. But not for lack of trying. South African researchers have fed them blood with the AIDS virus, but the virus died. They have shown that bugs can retain hepatitis B virus for weeks, but when they bite chimpanzees, the infection does not take.

Check out the NYC Bedbug Registry for the addresses of apartment and office buildings currently reported to be infested.

Improv Everywhere - Black Tie Beach

Bean Bear Chair

Judging by the model, the makers of the Bean Bear Chair don't yet realize their target demo.

Quote Of The Day - NOM

"An earthquake is beginning: If 'gay is like black,' then 'Christian is like racist.' The early warning signs are now taking place all over the globe. In New Zealand, Exodus Ministries was just stripped of its tax-exempt status, on the grounds that helping gay people lead Christian lives is not a charity." - NOM reacts to yesterday's news that New Zealand doesn't consider "ex-gay" ministries to have a public value. Despite NOM's lies about this, the government did not comment about racism or discrimination in its ruling.

Mexico City Invites Gay Honeymooners

Mexico City has launched a new tourism office to lure gay honeymooners from around the world.

"We hope that many same-sex couples who get married around the world spend their honeymoons here," says Alejandro Rojas, the city's tourism secretary. In July, the city opened an office aimed at catering to gay tourists that officials describe as the first of its kind in Latin America. "We are a very tolerant, liberal, avant-garde city," Rojas says. Officials inaugurated the new office by cutting a rainbow-colored ribbon. Rojas said the office's goal is to make Mexico City the No. 1 gay-friendly destination in Latin America. "Mexico has a tradition of being a rather macho culture... This is a sign of a very important social change," says Argentinean architect Jose Luis David Navarro, who will be spending part of his honeymoon in Mexico City this week.

The first gay couple to wed in Argentina is honeymooning in Mexico City this week on an all-expenses paid trip courtesy of the new tourism office.

AUSTRALIA: State Of Tasmania Recognizes Gay Marriages From Other Countries

The legislature of the Australian island state of Tasmania has voted to recognize same-sex marriages and civil unions from other jurisdictions.

Only three of the 25 Lower House MPs voted against the amendment to the Relationships Act - Liberal members Rene Hidding, Michael Ferguson and Jacqui Petrusma. Attorney-General Lara Giddings says the changes will remove discrimination for same-sex couples in registered relationships. "This is really a small step, but a significant and important step for those people who have registered or been through a civil union process elsewhere around the world and want us to recognise that relationship as indeed being in existence," she said.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jonny)

Hurrican Earl Via Twitternaut

Astronaut Doug Wheelock tweeted this photo of Hurricane Earl from the International Space Station this morning. Follow the NASA astronauts on Twitter here.

Robyn Covers Bjork

With Bjork looking on from the front row.

Parliament House In Foreclosure

Orlando's Parliament House, my first ever gay bar (back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth) is facing foreclosure and heading into receivership.

Houston-based Southwest Guaranty Ltd. and Compass Bank of Alabama initiated foreclosure actions against the property on North Orange Blossom Trail in July over a $7.5 million mortgage that matured at the end of 2009. Attorneys for the creditors said Monday they expect it will taken over this week by a court-appointed receiver, which would continue the club's operations under court orders. Entrepreneur Donald Granastein and his wife purchased it in 1999 and have operated it since then. The couple have been credited with renovating and reinvigorating the somewhat-faded landmark on the western edge of downtown. Granastein said Monday he didn't have the money to repay the note when it came due. He added that he holds the liquor license and expects to continue operating it, even under a receiver. "Am I happy with this? That's a big no," he said. "But I'm stuck with whatever happens, and we will be open 100 percent."

The Parliament House is inarguably the most famous gay business in the entire south and has been for three decades. I really cannot imagine an Orlando without it. I hope it survives somehow.

Hurricane Earl Now Category Four

New From Crazy Eyes

Jim the Bow-legged Election Guy is back.

Star Trek: TNG Production Memo

Reggie Jackson or Wesley Snipes as Geordi? Denise Crosby as Troi, not Tasha? Madness, all of it!

Focus On The Family Launches Site To Stop Anti-Bullying Programs

The bigots at Focus On The Family are worried that their "God-given, constitutionally protected" right to have their kids beat up queers is being thwarted by the rising number of anti-bullying programs around the nation. Therefore they have launched the misnamed hate site True Tolerance, where parents can get tips on how to stop any anti-bullying education that includes the message that it's wrong to attack gay kids. "The emphasis should be on the wrong actions of the bully — not on the bully’s perceived thoughts or motivations." They should ask Carl Walker-Hoover's mother what she thinks about that.

Morning View - Water Tanks

Every New York City building over 80 feet tall must have its own water tank to meet fire codes, a regulation that goes back to the 1880s. Most tanks are made of cedar, which resists freezing better than metal tanks. While some find the tanks unsightly and most newer buildings hide them, count me among those who consider the tanks an iconic part the city skyline.

Whitestock Attendees Speak Out

That's Gay Salutes Focus On The Family

American Family Association: That Mormon Glenn Beck Is The Anti-Christ

OK, not the "anti-Christ" per se, but definitely working for the Dark Lord. Writing for the American Family Association's OneNewsNow, Russell Moore says that America's acceptance of Glenn Beck is emblematic of the nation's embrace of Satan. Or something.

A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they've heard the gospel, right there in the nation's capital. The news media pronounces him the new leader of America's Christian conservative movement, and a flock of America's Christian conservatives have no problem with that. If you'd told me that ten years ago, I would have assumed it was from the pages of an evangelical apocalyptic novel about the end-times. But it's not. It's from this week's headlines. And it is a scandal. [snip]

We used to sing that old gospel song, "I will cling to an old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown." The scandalous scene at the Lincoln Memorial indicates that many of us want to exchange it in too soon. To Jesus, Satan offered power and glory. To us, all he needs offer is celebrity and attention.

Mormonism and Mammonism are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They offer another Lord Jesus than the One offered in the Scriptures and Christian tradition, and another way to approach him. An embrace of these tragic new vehicles for the old Gnostic heresy is unloving to our Mormon friends and secularist neighbors, and to the rest of the watching world. Any "revival" that is possible without the Lord Jesus Christ is a "revival" of a different kind of spirit than the Spirit of Christ (1 Jn. 4:1-3).

We love wingnut infighting!

Michele Bachmann Speaks After Whitestock 2010

Note to Tom Jones: Puh-leeze stop Crazy Eyes from using She's A Lady. Stop that right now, Mr. Jones, we're begging you.

Call The Waambulance Because Nobody Wants To Date Homocon Kevin Dujan

Homocon Kevin Dujan, author of Hillbuzz, says that his last boyfriend broke up with him after a Google search revealed "what the Left had put out there" about him. And now Dujan claims that someone he was interested in threw a drink in his face when learning about his love for Sarah Palin. Why, radical gay leftists are probably planning his murder right this minute!

Well, I’ll take a beer to the face, or even a punch, for Governor Palin and little Trig any day. I’ll accept whatever nasty thing the Left wants to do today, willingly, because I am tired of seeing people run in terror from these lunatics. I am sick to death of watching Republicans buckle when threatened by the Daily Kos crowd, and I’m so very tired of conservatives allowing the Left to run roughshod over this country because they are scared of the Left targeting them for resisting. Just as Jacobi broke things off with me because he Googled me after the Left’s attacks in January, and Keifer threw his drink at me and told me he hoped I got AIDS and died because he realized I’m a conservative political writer he’d heard of (and hated), I know that in the future there’s going to be some crazy Leftist zealot, most likely in the gay community, who’s going to take things even further…and possibly physically harm me because I won’t shut up, sit down, and allow the Left to tank this country.

Oh, the bravery! The martyrdom! Read the entire self-pitying piece, it's hilair.

The Truth About NY Sen. Ruben Diaz

Fight Back New York writes us today to announce the launch of their new website, The Truth About Ruben Diaz, which exposes the New York Senate homophobe on many issues. The current top ten:

1. Ruben Diaz was investigated by the FBI
2. He was arrested for possession of heroin and marijuana
3. Ruben Diaz was only member of the New York Senate to vote against the ethics reform bill
4. He was the only Democrat in the New York Senate to vote to shut down the state government
5. Ruben Diaz refused to meet with his own constituents
6. He compared the use of stem cells for medical research to the Nazis using “the ashes of the Jews to make bars of soap.”
7. Ruben Diaz appropriated monies totaling $250,000 to an organization he founded, the Christian Community Benevolent Association
8. He also appropriated monies totaling $1,120,000 to the Hispanic Federation, of which the Christian Community Benevolent Association is a part (see #7)
9. Ruben Diaz defended former Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled from the Senate due to a conviction for misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend
10. Ruben Diaz and three other Democrats refused to support the Majority Leader, only to change their minds after he "offered them perks and committee chairmanships."

IMPORTANT: You can donate to the campaign of Diaz' opponent Charlie Ramos here.